Metal-drawing apparatus



L. H. BRINKMAN. METAL DRAWING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED AUG-29. I917.

' 1,360,087. Patented Nov. 23,1920,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

H II u H H l! H II II II II I! I! H II H II II H II II n H M #M/QATfORA/EY L. H. BRINKMAN.

METAL DRAWING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-29. 1917.

2 SHEEl'S-SHEEI 2.

Patented Nov. 23, 1920.

UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE.

IiOUIS H. BRINKMAN, OF GLEN RIDGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR To BALL ROLLED TUBE CORPORATION, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

METAL-DRAWING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 23, 1920.

Application filed August 29, 1917. Serial No. 188,709.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS H. BRINKMAN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at,

' the metal, and is an improvement upon the disclosures of my Patents Nos. 1,143,101 and 1,203,306, dated June 15th, 1915 and October 31st, 1916, respectively.

Where, as in the patents above referred to, the die and Work are relatively rotatable, the rotation of the work on the one hand and the die parts on the other being the same for all of the die parts which bear upon the balls, the area of contact of a ball. with the work and with the cooperating parts of the die, is apt to be confined to a comparatively narrow zone on the ball. The wear being thus restricted instead of distributed over the area of the ball, continued use of the apparatus may in timeproduce irregularly shaped balls which are not best adapted for the operation of the device.

It is one object of the invention to pro vide apparatus for distributing the wear over the surfaces of the balls.

It is further found that in prior structures of the character above referred to, the balls have no tendency to roll lengthwise of the tube. This requires that the work be drawn under the balls by main strength of the draw head which places great stress on the apparatus and work. The latter is usually heated and if it is sufficiently softened by the heat and the pull is suflicient the tube or rod may be stretched'or even parted. The present invention provides methods and means for altering the rotation of the balls so that a component of the rolling motion of a ball is lengthwise of the work so that it tends to climb upon the metal shoulder on the work against which it bears. This reduces the opposition to the drawing of the work through the die and it is possible that under some circumstances the metal would be drawn into the dieby the operation of the balls on it without the necessity for a draw head. 'lhe invention may also be employed to effect various other controlling influences on the movement of the balls according to the results desired to be accomplished.

Other and ancillary objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the invention,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of apparatus embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 1s a top plan view of the apparatus of F 1g. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal central section, on an enlarged scale, of the die and appurtenant parts; and

Fig. 1 is a section on the line 1- 1 of Fig 3. eferring to the drawings, and first to Figs. 1 and 2, 1 is a platform or table at one end of which is mounted a rotary electric motor 2 for driving a die mechanism 3 on a support 4. To the left of this mechanism is provided a furnace 5, such as a furnace. This furnace is hollow so as to permit the insertion therethrough of a mandrel 6 when tubes are being drawn and to receive a tube 7 to be heated and drawn.

Upon the table 1, is a trackway 8, which extends along the table in alinement with the die. A draw-head 9 and a following block 10 are mounted on the trackway, and the following block is pro vided with a pair of tongs 12 having gripping jaws 13 adapted to grip on to a plug or other suitable means 1 11 secured in the end of the tube 7 to be drawn, while the other extremity of the tongs is provided with toggle links and a connecting hook 155, connecting the tongs to the drawhead 9 which is in turn provided with a pivotal hoolr 16, having a handle 17, by means of which, it is lifted into and out of connection with an endless chain 155, passing over sprocket wheels 19 and 20 mounted near the two ends of the table. The chain is driven by means of a suitable electric inotor all, geared to the sprocket wheel 9.0,

through the gear wheels as, E28, 2 1 anc' When the machine is used for drawing tubes instead of rods,l provide the mandrel 6, ahove referred to, and this is supported at one end in an openslot as in the head of a pillow block The mandrel is pret erably of considerably less diameter than the tube to be drawn and eatends through the furnace 5 to the hall die hanisin proper, and is provided with enlarged ll 1. ll

this recess beingclosed at the end by means of a ring 32 secured to one end of the member'31. The other end of the member 31 is provided with a collar or nut 33, bear ng against the support 4 and so prevent ng movement of the member 31 and its carried arts, to the left (see Fig. 3) while the ongitudinal movement of this member 1n the other direction is limited by its shoulder '34 coming against the frame 4. Shims 35 may be interposed between the shoulder 34 and the frame 4 for purposes of adjustment. The ring 30 is secured between the head 32 and the shoulder 36 on the member 31 and this may be effected by the inter-position of shims 37, longitudinal adjustment of the ring being capable of accomplishment by withdrawing one or more shims from one Side of the ring and inserting them on the other side.

The member 31 is driven by means of a herringbone gear 38 fixed to it and meshing with a gear 39 fixed on the shaft 40 which is an extension of the shaft of the motor 2. It will be observed that the member 31 is rotatably mounted in a bushing'41 in the frame 4.

The head 32' is screw threaded in the frame so that it is adjustable and is locked 1 thereto by the jam nut 43. This head extends within the ring 32 and the face 56st 1 its inner end serves to hold the balls 1n position. While this face serves to prevent displacement of the balls, it does not sustain any considerable pressure during the drawing operation as the tendency of the work is to force the balls in the opposite direction.

Rotatably mounted within the member 31 is a sleeve 44 having fixed to it at one end the gear 45, also preferably of the herringbone type, which engages with the gear 46 on the shaft 40. A ball bearing 47 is interposed between the hub of the gear 45 and the frame to take up the thrust. At its other end the sleeve 44-has fixed to it the cheek plate 48, against which the balls bear. This cheek plate is provided with radial ribs 49 forming cavities for the balls so that as the plate is turned the balls will be carried with it circumferentially of the die. This permits the balls to beadjusted radially to vary the diameter of the die. At its interior edge the plate has a lip or flange 50 to prevent the balls from falling out of the die when the work is withdrawn. v

To aid in keeping the balls cool acircumferential groove 51 in the head 32, and which is closed on one side by the part 42 of the frame, is supplied with a cooling fluid, such as water, from any suitable source, by means of a pipe 52. This circumferential groove 51 communicates by passages 53 of which there may be any suitable number distributed circumferentially about the head, with a circumferential chamber 54 from which the fluid flows through passages as 55, to the face 56 against which the balls bear. The fluid thus introduced to the balls, is thrown outwardly by centrifugal action and passes out from the ball cavity through the annular passage 57 formed by the clearance between the head 32' and the rotating part within which it enters which discharges into the circular chamber from which it may be drained off by means of a pipe 59.

The gears 38 and 39 are made of such ratio and the speed of the motor is such that the race-ring 30 is driven at the desired rate of speed which would ordinarily be a high speed to effect the desired results. The tube having passed'through the furnace, is heated to the desired degree and is drawn through the die within the encircling balls by the drawhead as before referred to-it being of course understood that the ring 30 has been so adjusted longitudinally of the apparatus, by means as before referred to,

that the diameter of the die is such as to effect the desired reduction.

The gearing is such that the plate 48 rotates at a number of revolutions per minute which is slightly larger than one-half of the number of revolutions per minute of the ring 30. As the ring 30 rotates, the balls tend to be rolled thereby in a path circumferentially of the work, that is, about axes more or less parallel to the axis of the work, and the center of a ball moves in its circumferential path at a speed substantially onehalf that of the ring 30. As the surface of the plate 48 is substantially radial at the points where it engages the balls, this plate would have no turning effect on the balls if run at a number of revolutions per minute, one-half those of the ring 30. Under such circumstances, the plate 48 would simply'rotate along side the balls at the same speed at which they were driven about ,the work by the ring 30. By varying the speed of the plate 48 so that its revolutions are either above or below those of the ring 30, a turning force is exerted upon the balls which tends to rotate them about axes more or less radial to the work and imparts to them a resulting rolling movement having a component extending longitudinally of the tube. This causes the wear to be distributed over the surfaces of the balls so that the till wear is not all confined to a restricted zone. Where the plate 48 is rotated in the same direction as the ring 30, the longitudinal component, before referred to, is in such direction that the'balls continually tend to climb upon the'shoulder of the work against which they bear and aid the drawing of the work through the die as has been before referred to. It will be seen that the relative speeds of the plate 48 and the ring 30 may be made to vary within wide limits, that they may rotate in the same or opposite directions, or that one only of them might be moved according to the motion which it is desired to impart to the balls. In view of the foregoing, it will be seen that by driving the plate {l8 in the same direction as the ring 30 and at slightly greater than one-half its speed, the. balls will be given a rollingmotion with a small longitudinal component, so that the distribution of wear and'the drawing of the tube through the die will be facilitated as before referred to.

, When hot tubes are to be drawn with the apparatus, the mandrel 6 is made in the form of a hollow tube having the enlarged head 28 hollow, and through the hollow mandrel is passed a small tube 60, preferably extending from the tail-end of the mandrel and through the same to the enlarged head. This tube is connected with a suitable source of cooling fluid 61 from which water will be discharged into the tube whence'it will flow to the hollow head and out again through the hollow mandrel. This How of water will prevent the mandrel from becoming over heated by the furnace and the hot tu e.

While the invention has been illustrated in what is considered its best application, it is to be understood that the apparatus may have other embodiments without departing from the scope of the claims; the invention is not therefore limited to the structure shown in the drawings, the invention being pointed out in the appended claims as re quired by the patent statutes.

What I claim isl. A ball die mechanism for drawing metal, having in combination a series of balls for actin upon the work, means for rolling the balls circumferentially about the work and means for giving the rolling of the balls in component lengthwise of the work.

2. A ball die mechanism for drawing metal, having in combination a series of balls for acting upon the work, means for rolling the balls circumferentiall about the work, means for giving the rol ing of the balls a component lengthwise of the Work, and opposite to the direction inwhich the tube is drawn.

3. A. ball die mechanism for drawing metal, having in combination a series of balls for acting upon the work, means for rolling the balls circumferentially about the work, means for giving the rolling of the balls a component lengthwise of the work, and means for adjusting the balls to vary the diameter of the die.

4. A ball die mechanism for drawing metal, having in combination a series of balls for acting upon the work, means for rolling the balls circumferentially about the work, means for giving the rolling of the balls a com onent lengthwise of the work, and means or applying cooling fluid to the balls. f

5. A ball die mechanism for drawing metal, having in combination a series of balls for acting upon the work, a support for the balls comprising a plurality of separately movable parts against which-the balls bear and means for rotating said parts and the work at different speeds.

6. A ball die mechanism for drawing metal, having in combination a series of balls for acting upon the work, means for rolling the ball circumferentially about the work, means for giving the rolling of the balls a component lengthwise of the work. and a common driving means for the aforesaid means. a l

'7. A ball die mechanism for drawing meta-l, having in combination a series-of balls for acting upon the work, means for rolling the balls circumferentially about. the work and means for increasing the area of wear on the balls over that occasioned by circumferential rolling.

8; A ball die mechanism for drawing metal, having in combination a series of balls for acting upon the work, a support therefor, and means for increasing the area of wear on the balls over that occasioned by circumferential rolling.

9. A ball die mechanism for drawing metal, having in combination aseries of balls for acting upon the work, asupport for the balls comprising a plurality of separately movable parts against which the balls bear and means for causing rotation of said parts at difi'erent speeds with relation t0 the work, the moving parts rotating in the same direction.

10. A ball die mechanism for drawing metal, having in combination a series of balsl for acting .upon the work, a support for the balls comprising a plurality of separatel'y movable parts against which the balls separately movable parts against which the balls bear, means for causing rotation of said parts at different speeds with relation to the work, and means for preventing the said balls from moving circumferentially of the work with relation to one of the said rotating parts of lesser speed.

12. In a ball die mechanism for drawing metal, the combination with a series of balls adapted to bear upon the work; of a racering bearing upon the balls; means for rotating said race-ring; another rotative member bearing upon said balls and means for rotating said member at aspeed different from that of said race-ring.

13. In a ball die mechanism for drawing metal, the combination with a series of balls adapted to bear upon the work; of a racering bearing upon the balls; means for, rotating said race-ring; another rotative member bearing upon said balls and means for rotating said member at a speed different from that'of said race-ring, said member carrying means for preventing movement, circumferentially of the work, of the balls with relation to said member.

14. A ball die mechanism for drawing metal, having in combination a series of balls for acting upon the work, a race-ring engaging the balls substantially opposite the points at which they engage the work, means for rotating said race-ring, a member bearing upon said balls substantially midway between their points of engagement with said race-ring and the work. said member having ribs to prevent relative movement of said member and said balls circumferentially of the work and means for rotating said member in the same direction as said ring and at a rotative speed greater than one-half that of said ring.

15. A ball die mechanism for drawing metal, having in combination a series of balls for acting upon the work, ball-actuating means tending to rotate the balls on axes more orless parallel to the axis of the work, and ball-actuating means tending to rotate the balls on axes more or less radial to the work, whereby the balls are caused to retate on axes resulting from the said ball actuating means.

16. In a ball die mechanism for drawing metal, in combination. a series of balls to encircle the work, ball-actuating means for causing the balls to roll around the work whereby the balls tend to rotate on axes more or less parallel to the work, ball-actuating means tending to rotate the balls on axes more or less radial to the work, and means for passing the work longitudinally throu h the die, whereby the balls are caused to rotate on axes which are the re sultants of the forces exerted on the balls by the aforesaid means.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification this 25th day of August, 1917 LOUIS H. BRINKMAN. 

